Page 11 of My Favorite Hero

“We got it,” I grunted.

“Would you mind if I painted these once they were up?” she asked.

“That would give them a nice finish,” Mark mused. “Make them less stock-looking. You should upgrade the hardware too.”

“Good idea,” she said, sounding pleased.

“Neutrals,” I muttered.

“Of course.”

She left, and Mark’s gaze followed her. “Eyes up here,” I snapped.

He chuckled. “Sorry. That ass, though.”

“Your wife know about your wandering eye?” I asked.

He snickered, not at all put out. “She knows I appreciate a fine ass. None finer than hers, though.”

“Keep it to yourself,” I hissed.

He looked past me. “Hey, you need help?” he called.

I turned to see Casey carrying a box. I tamped down my instinct to hurry over and take it from her. One, I didn’t want her to think I cared, and two, I liked my nuts where they were.

“No, I’m good,” she replied. “I packed them and carried them to the SUV, so I can carry them in here.”

He noticed my glare. “What now?”

“Cupboards. I got you here to install the cupboards. Not make nice with the tenant.”

“What crawled up your ass this morning?” he asked as we lifted an upper cabinet into place.

“I wanted a few days off of peace. Not doing this.”

Casey’s voice came from behind me. “You can have your days off. I’m not in a rush.”

“No,” I refused. “I’ll get this done.”

“Okay, Thorne.”

Mark chuckled, and I shot him another glare.

We worked in silence for a while, the cupboards going up fast in the small space.

“I need to build the lower ones tomorrow,” I muttered. “I can install those myself. Any chance you can come back later tomorrow afternoon and we’ll put in the counter?”

“Sure,” he agreed easily. “Linda’s working.”

“I’ll buy you lunch if you want,” I offered. “For today’s help.”

“Sounds good.”

Casey came in, holding a small swatch. “Will this be okay for the cupboards?”

I looked at the soft sage color. “It’ll play off nice with the cream you’ve painted,” she offered. “I can finish off the last wall by the window.”

“Fine.”